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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wind · press · fine · rule · drill · shower · hide · tear

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. wind — moving air
  4. fine — high quality
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. rule — a law
  7. press — to push
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. shower — to wash
  10. rule — government
  11. shower — rain
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — to rip
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. press — newspapers
  18. fine — all right
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. drill — the tool
  21. press — a publisher
  22. wind — moving air
  23. tear — from crying
  24. drill — army training

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com